The present invention relates to an automobile lamp such as a license plate lamp or tail lamp, and more particularly to improvements in the anti-misting and waterproofing of such a lamp.
As shown in FIG. 1, in a conventional automobile lamp of this type, the waterproofness of a lamp chamber 7 is ensured by fitting a gasket 3 between a lamp housing 1 and a lens 2 and by forcing bushing 6 into a member 5 through which pass the leads to the bulk socket 4. To prevent the inner surface of the lens 2 from misting, a vent 8 is formed in the gasket 3. However, such a construction is disadvantageous in that satisfactory waterproofing and anti-misting effects are sometimes unachievable because rain water can penetrate into the lamp chamber 7 through the vent 8 due to a so-called "respiratory" action caused by temperature changes resulting from the ON/OFF operation of the bulb 9 in the lamp chamber 7.